Introduction.
The Consumer Duty sets higher and clearer standards of consumer protection across financial services and requires regulated firms to put their customers’ needs first.
The Consumer Duty applies to products and services across the life journey, from product origination (manufacturing) through to distribution and post-sale activity. If implemented correctly, firms can help drive positive change both for their customers and themselves. Firms are required by the FCA to demonstrate with clear evidence of their culture, governance and accountability are aligned with the Consumer Duty.
We are helping firms in a number of ways from complete project management and providing specialist resources to adding consulting and advisory expertise as an external specialist partner.
What we can help with.
Our approach is grounded in genuine understanding and practical solutions. Our team, well-versed in regulatory intricacies, offers tailored services encompassing audits and policy implementation. With a thorough and personalised approach, we guide businesses through the ever-evolving regulatory landscape.
Our Consumer Duty Audit Service is all about understanding your business from the inside out. We don't just review procedures; we deep dive into your operations, ensuring that your commitment to consumer-centric practices aligns seamlessly with regulatory expectations. Our approach is hands-on, offering practical insights and tailored recommendations that go beyond compliance checkboxes.
Advisory
We take a collaborative approach to help your business meet consumer duty expectations. Our team becomes an extension of yours, working side by side to enhance your understanding of consumer needs. We ensure that our advice is not just theoretical but practical and impactful. Together, we navigate the complexities of consumer duty, offering tailored guidance.
Consumer duty audit
Our focus is on simplicity and practicality. We understand that policies should not just be documents but living guides that resonate with your business practices. Our team, with its in-depth knowledge of regulatory requirements, works closely with yours to articulate policies that are authentic. The result is a genuine framework that guides your team in prioritising consumer interests in every interaction.
Our People.
Our team of regulatory and compliance experts combine their backgrounds across multiple sectors. Together, they understand the issues faced by our clients and provide a bespoke service. Our service is expert-led. This means that when you engage with us, you will have direct access to a senior expert, usually at the director level. Our team combine strong regulatory expertise with commercial acumen. This means that they are able to understand your business in-depth and provide solutions built around it, unique to yourself.
About our firm.
Since 2013, Regulatory Counsel has guided firms through ever-evolving compliance landscapes. Our seasoned team, spanning various sectors, actively integrates compliance into day-to-day operations. With a keen eye on senior management responsibilities and consumer needs, we aim for commercial success while effectively managing compliance risks.
In an era of increasing regulatory complexity, our multi-sector specialists collaborate to gain nuanced insights into FCA interactions and industry trends. This collective expertise enables us to align business objectives with compliance requirements, offering tailored solutions that empower our clients to navigate regulations confidently. At Regulatory Counsel, we're dedicated to preserving your vision and objectives in the ever-changing regulatory landscape.
Our Insights
Consumer duty for insurers: from application to implementation
Our thoughts
Implementing culture, governance and accountability
Our thoughts
Our thoughts
Product, price, consumer support and consumer understanding: nailing the 4 outcome
What our clients say.
"We are genuinely grateful for the invaluable support provided by Regulatory Counsel in navigating the complexities of Consumer Duty. Their team demonstrated a deep understanding of regulatory nuances and offered tailored solutions that exceeded our expectations and helped us enhance customer outcomes. The personalised approach, expertise, and hands-on support have made them an integral part of our company."
Our recent work
Project Overview
We helped a payments and banking firm improve their products and services to vulnerable customers and deliver better customer support understanding and support
Overview
Assessing whether our banking client's current products and services and support were delivering good customer outcomes, particularly for vulnerable customers.
Scope of our work
1. End-to-end project management.
2. Project planning.
3. Assessment of existing communication channels and their effectiveness.
3. Gap analysis across communication channels, testing different scenarios.
4. Implementation of changes and recommendations.
Outcomes delivered
1. Product development for target customer groups, including customers with vulnerable characteristics.
2. Improved the support channels available for target customer groups, including customers with vulnerable characteristics.
3. Provided ongoing monitoring in assessing effectiveness of implemented measures.
4. Reduced no. of complaints overall.
5. Implemented changes following focus groups and customer feedback from research in assessing effectiveness of measures.
We helped a lender and credit broking firm improve its remuneration and bonus structure in managing its conducts risk and achieving good customer outcomes.
Overview
We carried out a gap analysis review on behalf of a lender and credit broker to assess whether their remuneration and staff incentivisation policy was leading to good customer outcomes.
Our work
1. Project planning: defining cost, schedule and cost.
2. Defined existing remuneration and bonus structure; understood how products were being sold; understood pricing.
3. Gap analysis across remuneration, bonuses and staff incentivisation.
4. Implemented changes across remuneration structure.
5. Provided training to senior management and frontline staff.
Outcomes we delivered
1. Changed the firm's renumeration and bonus structure, enabling them to deliver good customer outcomes and managing conduct risk more effectively.
2. Lowered % of customer complaints, especially relating to post-sale support.
Project Overview
Project Overview
We helped a banking client meet their regulatory obligations across customer support and communication
Overview
We project managed and provided support to our client in helping them assess whether their customer support and communication processes were adequate and effective in delivering good customer outcomes.
Our work
1. End-to-end project management.
2. Project plan: defined resources, schedule and budget.
3. Defined existing communication channels.
3. Conducted gap analysis across the firm's communication channels including testing different scenarios.
4. Implemented changes across the firm's communication structure and channels.
5. Carried out testing and ongoing monitoring.
Outcomes we delivered
1. Improvement of client communication to its customers.
2. Implementation of additional communication channels.
3. Delivery of effective communication and customer support for customers with vulnerable characteristics.
4. Improvement of customer support both pre-sale and post-sale of services.
Next Steps.
The next step involves us arranging a telephone call or a meeting to discuss your business ambitions and plan. Once we understand the payment and e-money services you wish to provide we can then discuss the best country for your licence and setup. We will also discuss any business and regulatory requirements that you will be required to meet and help guide you through these.